reference points
Standards for comparison
Reference points are fixed positions or standards used to measure, compare, or orient.
In navigation, a reference point helps establish location: The lighthouse served as our reference point along the coast.
More broadly, reference points are baseline assumptions or shared knowledge that ground a conversation or analysis: Without common reference points, the debate went nowhere.
In psychology and economics, reference points are the mental benchmarks against which we judge gains and losses.
- benchmarksStandards for measuring performance
- north starOrienting life principle
- touchstoneStandard for evaluation
- baselineStandard for comparison
- ground truthEmpirically confirmed actual information
landmark · criteria · standard · indicator · marker · lodestone · starting points · known quantity · yardstick · guideposts · milestone · gauge · coordinates · navigation · survey · horizon · anchors · home base
- foldsfolds, fold, pleats, pleat, creases
- navigation aidscompass, maps, road signs, signs, GPS
- reference systemsDewey Decimal, library system, filing system, catalog, database
- fisheries sciencefish stocks, biomass, abundance, fishing quotas, quota
- ISDNbasic rate
- navigationcompass, compass rose, signs, charts, navbar
reference pointsdisorientation
Loss of spatial awareness
groundlessness · anchorlessness · uncharted territory · the void · nowhere
reference pointsshots in the dark
Attempts lacking any guidance
stabs in the dark · wild guesses · baseless claims · guesswork · flying blind
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